Ok here's my 2 cents worth on Pyrazolam and benzos, but first some background..
I suffer with chronic social anxiety and have taken Diazepam and Xanax on prescription (and my fair share of generic versions of these which can have variable effects), plus I use Etizolam regularly for sleep. So I know my benzo's and the dosage, the effects they have, both for anxiety relief and for sedation/sleep..
I obtained Pyrazolam (yellow pills scored from a well known RC vendor) as it looked like a cheaper and possibly good alternative to Xanax (my favourite benzo of choice for social anxiety and the most effective for me). I had high hopes for it, because of the longer half-life (9-11 hrs compared to Xanax < 6 hrs) and it's supposed to be less sedating than Xanax at higher doses..
Some have described Pyrazolam as "Xanax-lite". I would position it somewhere between Xanax and Diazepam in terms of effects, which are quite subtle and creep up on you. It does seem to have typical onset time if taken orally (40mins-1hr), despite claims of a fast onset.
It's quite weird actually how Pyrazolam works and difficult to put into words.. the only way I can describe it is like imagine a steep curve... at the bottom flat part (on 0.5mg) you have mild anxiety relief akin to 5-10mg diazepam (but without any sedation)... then suddenly, bam, if you up the dose of Pyrazolam (1.5mg-2mg) expecting more anxiety-relief, you're knocked out and sleeping.
So, for me, it is nowhere near as effective as Xanax for anxiety. Simply no comparison. If you're suffering bad social anxiety and expecting this to do for you what Xanax does, save your money and buy Xanax instead.
Yes, it has some type of benzo effect and you feel less anxiety (and sedated/sleep inclined at higher doses) but it's definitely not as precise and effective as Xanax is at targeting anxiety for me.. Xanax has a much faster onset too for me (especially if taken sublingually, i.e. dissolved under tongue)
Compared to Pyrazolam, Xanax not only removes anxiety totally for me but even makes me social. It doesn't sedate either at low to mid dosage (0.5mg-1mg), whereas Pyrazolam just takes the edge off anxiety, so I have to re-dose and end up crashing and sleeping on 1-1.5mg.
That said, experiences and effects tend to vary a lot with benzos. People use them for different reasons and have different tolerance levels of expectations in terms of the effects. I wouldn't dismiss Pyrazolam as benzo, but I also wouldn't say it's a great alternative to Xanax (or Diazepam for that matter) due to it being unlicensed, RC status and safety questions..
Here's how I use benzos:
1. Extreme Social Anxiety = Xanax (0.5 - 2mg)
2. Combat re-bound anxiety/withdrawals when not taking Xanax = Diazepam (5mg)
3. Sleep = Etizolam (0.5mg)
Two comments/warnings I would like to make for those new to benzo's..
1. Xanax - not really a daily/long-term solution for social anxiety due to its short half-life, tolerance develops, dependency and withdrawal risks.
2. Etizolam - if used daily for sleep, serious risk of Blepharospasms (eyelid spasms leading to droopy eyelids).
I have experienced both the above:
1. I now need repeated dosing of Xanax to get the same effects (I started on 0.5mg and now need 2mg, years on) and experience severe re-bound anxiety sometimes if I don't take it.
2. After using Etizolam nightly for 12 months, I have begun experiencing eyelid spasms that come and go, which is worrying.